Polymer solar cells with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) as transparent anode

A highly conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) film was prepared by in-situ oxidative polymerization on a glass substrate and adopted as the transparent anode of polymer solar cells that were based on a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) as the photoactive layer. PEDOT anodes of various thicknesses were prepared for use in such devices. The resistance of the PEDOT and the transmitted light intensity of the irradiation varied with the thickness. The best devices exhibited a power conversion efficiency of 2.6% under simulated AM1.5G solar irradiation. Importantly, the conversion efficiency of incident photons to electrons in the device with the PEDOT anode was comparable to that with an ITO electrode, indicating the practicability of applying PEDOT as anode to fabricate high-efficiency flexible solar cells.